Jill Culton was born on March 19, 1973, in Jersey City, and is a renowned American animator, storyboard artist, director, and screenwriter. She made history by becoming the first female principal director of a big-budget, computer-generated feature with her directorial debut on Sony's Open Season.
Before her directorial debut, Culton studied at the prestigious California Institute of the Arts, where she later taught animation. She then went on to work as a storyboard artist for several Pixar films, including Toy Story, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life, and co-wrote the original treatment for Monsters, Inc. Her impressive work led her to become the Head of Development at Pixar.
In addition to her work at Pixar, Culton also animated on Toy Story and served as a Directing Animator at Turner Features for the film Cats Don't Dance. She collaborated with Anthony Stacchi to develop Curious George while working at Industrial Light & Magic.
In 2003, Culton joined Sony Pictures Animation, where she directed Open Season and executive produced Open Season 2. During her time at Sony, she also developed Hotel Transylvania. Later, in 2010, she moved to DreamWorks Animation, where she wrote and directed an animated film about a little girl and a Yeti, initially titled Everest, but later retitled Abominable.
However, Culton left the project in 2016, only to return in 2018 to write and direct Abominable once again. Most recently, it was announced in June 2024 that Culton will co-direct Warner Bros. Pictures Animation's adaptation of Oh, the Places You'll Go!
